New Monty Python and the Holy Grail Cartoons Discovered After 40 Years

The joys of Monty Python came from nonsense. "Now for something completely different" really meant "now for something you could never imagine." That the sketch comedy group maintained its effervescence when transitioning from television to film is something of a miracle. Sticking to the mold helped; Holy Grail, Life of Brian, and Meaning of Life are segmented and unfettered like the best episodes of Flying Circus. But the films also coalesce. Holy Grail culminates the encounters with pestering French knights, riddling bridge-dwellers, and Knights Who Say ""Ni" in a grand battle with a bloodthirsty rabbit. It was light on its toes, nonsense. And Terry Gilliam's cutout animation was the pure, demented glue holding it together.

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After sifting through materials for an upcoming 40th anniversary release of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Python archivists discovered additional reels of animation shot by Gilliam, but not included in the finished cut of the film. And you can watch it: Gilliam released the footage, with accompanying narration, to the group's YouTube page. The cartoons give us an idea of what Holy Grail would look like if Monty Python made it in the age of $150 million blockbusters i.e. monster-filled spectacle and violent pratfalls. They're nonsensical. We wouldn't want it any other way.